Enigma
by sharon raydor
Summary: At the end of a long day, Sharon finds an unexpected shoulder to lean on. This story was written for defyingnormalcy. Pairing: Raydor/Hobbs


"Coffee?"

Sharon Raydor looked up, hastily wiping her eyes, hoping she wasn't smearing her make-up in the process. There were good reasons she usually tried to keep up her guard when she was in the office. Although, since the moment Brenda Lee Johnson had stepped into her life her guard had cracked more than once. This woman certainly had made her life rather interesting.

Her mind went off on a tangent. as it often did when a day had been too long, and she quickly got a grip on herself, focussed on the woman who had addressed her.

Andrea Hobbs, waited patiently, leaning against her doorframe, two cups of coffee in her hands.

"I... Well, yes, coffee would be wonderful," she said.

She hoped Hobbs hadn't seen her crying but she knew it was a futile wish. If more people saw her like that her reputation for being the Wicked Witch of the West might suffer. Sharon could just stop herself from shaking her head at her own thoughts.

The other woman stepped inside Sharon's office, handing one of the cups to Sharon before taking a seat, putting her cup on Sharon's desk.

"May I?" she asked belatedly.

It made Sharon smile. Andrea Hobbs seemed friendly, soft at first glance but she was tough as nails, did her job without blinking an eyelid. When she wanted to sit she would sit and not wait for anyone's permission.

"Of course."

Sharon looked at her watch. It was a quarter to nine and she better called it a night soon. Knowing Rusty he wouldn't have thought of preparing himself anything remotely healthy to eat.

"What are you still doing here that late?" Sharon asked, really looking at the other woman for the first time.

Hobbs smiled, looking a bit tired. She shrugged.

"A meeting with Taylor. I wondered if he'd ever stop talking."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "He can be rather... talkative."

"To say the least."

"But why the coffee?" Sharon asked, raising her cup to take a sip. It was good, and Sharon closed her eyes for a moment, savoured the taste.

"I saw you on my way out of here and frankly, you looked like you needed one."

So Hobbs had seen her crying all right. Sharon contemplated the woman in front of her. Although she dealt with Andrea Hobbs on a semi-regular basis, the blonde was still an enigma to her. There was hardly a thing she knew about her apart of the most basic facts. She found her sympathetic enough but sometimes she wondered what hid behind the power suits, the clever eyes and the friendly smile.

"I'm... sorry you got to see this," Sharon said.

"We all have rough days and I heard you had some trouble with Daniel Dunn."

Nevers travelled fast.

"Yes. But it's settled now."

Only that it wasn't. Not when it came to her. Her heart still clenched when she thought of Rusty with his black eye and split lip. What kind of man did something to a boy who had suffered through more than enough? To his own kin? She'd been a police officer for long enough to know that violence could happen everywhere, anytime. It didn't make it any easier to bear though.

Hobbs took a sip of her own coffee, just waiting her out. It was a tactic Sharon liked to apply herself. She found herself smiling in spite of herself.

"I wanted him to be arrested and charged. I wanted to see him rot in prison."

"But?"

"But Rusty pleaded me not to do it. He asked me about his options and I gave them to him. I couldn't lie to him. Too many people lied to him in his life."

Hobbs nodded. "And he only wanted to get rid of the bastard. I understand him, where he is coming from."

"Dunn's fiancée has two daughters."

Hobbs gaze hardened. "I know what you're trying to say here but these girls have a mother whose job it is to look out for them. And by now this woman should have an inkling what kind of bastard she intends to marry. You want the best for Rusty. You can't save the whole world, Sharon."

Her first name. It gave her a thrill to hear it. Too few people called her by her first name. She had a family who loved her but they all led their own life somewhere else. She had friends she saw too seldom. And in the office... she was happy most people had come around to tolerate her by now.

"Thank you."

"Not for that. I call it as I see it, simple as that. Stop beating yourself up over it. What's done, is done."

Nothing in life was ever simple, a fact Sharon was reminded of time and again, still, Hobbs was right.

Eyeing the stack of paper on her desk, she decided it had to wait until morning. Tonight she was of no use any longer anyway. She put it all into the drawer of her desk, turned to Hobbs.

"Time to call it a night."

"It's late enough anyway. Rusty will wonder where you are."

They both got up, and Hobbs waited for her at the door.

"I doubt it. Underneath it all he's just a teenager."

"A teenager who has found a home for the first time in his life."

Sharon buttoned her coat, switched off the light in her office. The hallway was nearly deserted, the cleaners already busy.

She looked at the woman walking by her side.

"You're awfully nice to me today."

"Only today?"

Sharon stopped at the teasing note in the other woman's voice. Hobbs stopped, too, her smile reminding Sharon of Mona Lisa. It held a challenge, daring anyone to uncover what lay behind it.

"You're... always helpful," Sharon said cautiously, wondering where this discussion was heading.

"Good. I hope I am."

Their gazes met, locked and for a moment Sharon's breath caught. Hobb's smile deepened, making Sharon want to... she wasn't quite sure what.

"Well," Hobbs looked away, shrugged. "I seem to have forgotten my purse in Taylor's office. I better go and get it."

Taylor's office was in the other direction.

"All right. Then...have a good night and thanks for the coffee."

"My pleasure. And if you feel like it and Rusty agrees to let you go out for an evening... I'm a decent cook. Just give me a ring."

She turned, walked away without looking back, leaving Sharon stunned.

Had Hobbs just asked her out on a date?

Finis


End file.
